In a new interview, Wretzky speaks at length about her relationship with Corgan and her exclusion from Smashing Pumpkins' reunion tour

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The Smashing Pumpkins reunion is off to a hilariously predictable start as two of the band’s founding members, frontman Billy Corgan and bassist D’arcy Wretzky, are engaged in war of words over the latter’s role (or lack thereof). To recap, yesterday Wretzky recounted a series of text messages she received from Corgan in which he reassured her she’d be involved in the reunion, only to later rescind the offer and claim that the other members didn’t want her to take part in it. In a statement issued by the band’s spokesperson late Monday night, Corgan disputed Wretzky’s side of the story, saying that she “has repeatedly been invited out to play with the group, participate in demo sessions, or at the very least, meet face-to-face,” but that “she always deferred.” Wretzky responded Tuesday morning by posting screen shots of her text messages with Corgan, which she said offer “proof to the many people who said that I was lying about ever being offered the job.” Now, in a new interview with Alternative Nation, Wretzky has taken the feud to defcon one.

To start, Wretzky surmised that her former bandmate has a “brain tumor.” In recounting her willingness to make amends with Corgan, she explained, “Everyone said he changed since he had a kid, and he can be very charming, and fun.” But Wretzky added, “I wasn’t aware of a lot of the crazy stuff, like he supports Trump. What? The shapeshifting thing, I honestly think he may have a brain tumor. He’s always been insufferable.”

Wretzky also questioned the integrity of the band’s reunion, alleging that Corgan’s failed pro wrestling venture was the impetus for the comeback. “We almost immediately started talking about a reunion, because he said to me: ‘Well, maybe you know, and maybe you don’t, but with this wrestling thing I kind of got myself into a bit of a hole,’ Wretzky recounted Corgan saying. “Billy always said, ‘Oh, I’ll never do just a reunion and play the oldies just for money.’ That’s exactly what it is now,” she added.

Despite all this, Wretzky said she was open to reuniting with Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin, and James Iha. “I would have really loved to. At one point Billy said that Jimmy was going to come over to his house and write some stuff. I always said, ‘I’d really love to do that too,'” she explained.

Wretzky acknowledged that her decision to go public and detail her issues with Corgan ended any chance of her reuniting with her former bandmates: “He’s not going to forgive me. He wanted me to do what he wanted me to do, and he’s furious at me for telling the truth. He calls it ‘your’ truth: ‘You should have told people within the context of the band.’ What the fuck does that mean? I know what it means, toe the party line. ‘We have to be on the same page.’ Just fucking come out and say it, you don’t want me to tell people that I’m not going to be the bass player.”

However, Wretzky added, “It took me a long time to not care, and not hate him. Now I don’t hate him, I’m back to where I was at the beginning. I laugh at his antics, and I’m going to go about my own life, but I don’t feel sorry for him. I do think he needs to get an MRI though.”

Throughout the lengthy interview, Wretzky spoke at great lengths about her time in Smashing Pumpkins and past experiences with Corgan. “When we were recording Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness in Atlanta, I had a miscarriage because of the stress,” she revealed at one point. “There’s so much ugliness. Billy loved to humiliate people and shame people in front of other people. It was incredibly abusive, and I was the only one who would fight back.”

She also spoke about her life following the Pumpkins, including her drug use. She said she’s now sober, adding, “I got to the point where I found the right medication for me and didn’t need them anymore. I’ve never been addicted to anything.”

“I’m in better shape than any of them,” she went on to say. “My mom was a health nut, and she taught us about eating healthy. I eat totally clean, I live and work on a farm. I had messed my shoulder up, because I pushed myself too hard. I’m maybe a hair shorter than James, and I’ve done just about every sport. We’re all very athletic in my family, I’m Russian and Danish. I was a gymnast, and I still like to work out. I like to do martial arts, I like to train horses, I like to build fences, I like to build stuff. I’m a very active person, I’ve also been really strong. I was a grotesquely skinny little kid, but super strong, weirdly. But I’m way healthier than any of them.”